Pakistan 'cooperative' in hunt for al-Qaida

TED ANTHONYAssociated Press

Published Thursday, May 16, 2002

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The head of U.S. operations in Afghanistan praised the Pakistani president for his cooperation in the hunt for al-Qaida fugitives, but said Wednesday the work of the ever-changing mission is not nearing an end.

"Is it about over? I wouldn't think so," Gen. Tommy Franks said during a daylong visit to Afghanistan, where he met American troops and helped the first crop of Afghan army recruits launch their training.

"The enemy has been difficult and the enemy remains difficult," he said.

Franks said operations against suspected al-Qaida and Taliban holdouts in eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan must continue. The region, much of which functions under tribal law and is only nominally controlled by the Pakistani government, is a suspected haven for terrorism suspects who have fled American military action in Afghanistan.

"Do we have work that we must do in that border area in the near future? Yes, we do," Franks said. But "President (Pervez) Musharraf and his government have been exceedingly cooperative. The fact of the matter is that I am pleased with the cooperation."

Washington considers Musharraf's continuing cooperation -- first pledged days after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States -- crucial to the fight against terrorism in Central and South Asia.

Franks' comments came as Pakistan, under U.S. pressure to seal border gaps, sent more than 1,000 troops into a semiautonomous tribal region along the Afghan border, where Washington believes al-Qaida and Taliban holdouts may be hiding, a local official in Pakistan said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair echoed Franks' assessment in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp.

The U.S.- and British-led search for Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts "has been a success but it is not complete yet," Blair said on the BBC's "Newsnight" program.

"If you look at the al-Qaida terrorist network, I'm not saying that they won't still try to carry out terrorist acts, but they have been wiped out, effectively, in Afghanistan. They're on the run. I've got no doubt at all that in the end we will secure" suspected terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Franks' visit Wednesday to the Afghanistan national army training facility in a sprawling compound just east of Kabul was to preside over a flag-raising for the fledgling army's recruits.

He reviewed and saluted new Afghan troops as sharpshooters atop nearby buildings watched the valley. The compound, occupied by Taliban and al-Qaida forces before the Islamic regime fell in November, is the site of intensive training of Afghan army recruits by U.S. special forces.

The recruits, in padded camouflage garb donated by the United States, stood for more than an hour under a blistering sun awaiting review by Franks, who helped hoist the Afghan interim government's flag to enthusiastic cheers.

"Thank you for the efforts you are making for the security of our country. Hard work is ahead of you," Assaf Delawar, the Afghan army's chief of staff, told the recruits.

Added Franks: "You represent the future of this country."

Earlier, at the U.S. air base in Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan, Franks told U.S. soldiers their mission in Afghanistan was not finished -- a statement that came just as coalition troops reported finding a warehouse full of grenades, mortar shells and more than 2 million rounds of ammunition that had belonged to al-Qaida or Taliban fighters.

Addressing 300 to 400 cheering American troops, Franks said the countries in the coalition had committed themselves "to destroy the terrorist network in Afghanistan and to destroy the Taliban."

"I'm not yet convinced the network is totally done," he said. "As long as it's not done, we're going to be here working."

Last week, the top British commander in the U.S.-led coalition, Brig. Roger Lane, said the war against al-Qaida and the Taliban was "all but won" and offensive operations were grinding down as a result.

Coalition forces discovered the weapons cache last week in Orgun, near the eastern town of Gardez, said Maj. Bryan Hilferty, a U.S. military spokesman at Bagram air base.

In Pakistan, the local official said more than 1,000 army troops arrived Wednesday in Miran Shah, headquarters of the North Waziristan tribal agency. More were being sent into neighboring South Waziristan agency, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said this was the first time tribal leaders had allowed such a large contingent of Pakistani troops into the area. They are being stationed at a sports complex near where U.S. special forces are believed to be bunking, he said.